Opinions from Denver Post July 19, 2013

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock delivered his second State of the City address last Monday, the halfway mark in his four-year term. He offered 40 minutes of obligatory rhetoric sprinkled with a list of accomplishments and an agenda primarily focused on children. He pledged his commitment to government transparency and efficiency, the plight of the homeless, and Denver’s promise as a global player.
Despite the lack of detail in the speech, Hancock is making very real progress on two thorny issues inherited from his predecessors: the future of the National Western Stock Show and the expansion of Interstate 70 through Globeville, Elyria and Swansea.
An enlightened collaboration with Colorado State University promises to transform the stock show grounds into an innovative, year-round center for agriculture and husbandry. In addition, the city has engaged architects Ron Straka and Humphries/Poli to enhance and connect three long-overlooked neighborhoods as part of the I-70 expansion. The next logical step is to link I-70 and the stock show grounds into a fully integrated, implementable plan.
However, regarding a panoply of problems plaguing another part of the city — Denver’s Department of Parks and Recreation — Hancock didn’t say much, other than making a vague promise that Denver will add more than 300 acres of new park land over the next five years.

overwhelming odds to stop the city from allowing development of Hentzell Park on Cherry Creek in Southeast Denver? They know this land deal sets a scary precedent, laying groundwork for future abandonment of hard-won green space in an ever more congested megalopolis.

Such open space has always been one of Colorado’s charms. With renewed growth, the threat of one giant Front Range metropolis returns. How far do you have to drive to find a hiking trail or see a cow?